Rupert Harrison

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 1 November 1978)"All power to the new Tories" (July 2010), https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/all-power-to-the-new-tories-6496057.html is a British economist and a portfolio manager at

BlackRock BlackRock, Inc. is an American multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with trill ...

. He was from 2006 to 2015 the Chief of Staff to

George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born Gideon Oliver Osborne; 23 May 1971) is a former British politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the ...

, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers in the UK Treasury.

Early life and education

Born in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, Harrison is the youngest son of a bank manager and a French teacher. He won a scholarship to

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

(where he was

head boy Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Aus ...

). He then went to

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

where he initially studied Physics, but then switched to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, achieving first-class honours. One of his tutors at Oxford was Stewart Wood, who went on to become an adviser to both

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

and

Ed Miliband Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliban ...

, and the two apparently remained friends. In 2007 he obtained a PhD degree in Economics from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

entitled, ''Innovation and technology adoption'' and his academic research was published in the '' American Economic Review'', the ''

Economic Journal ''The Economic Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of economics published on behalf of the Royal Economic Society by Oxford University Press. The journal was established in 1891 and publishes papers from all areas of economics.The edito ...

'' and the ''

Review of Economics and Statistics ''The'' ''Review of Economics and Statistics'' is a peer-reviewed 103-year-old general journal that focuses on applied economics, with specific relevance to the scope of quantitative economics. The ''Review'', edited at the Harvard University’s K ...

'' amongst others.

Career

From 2002, Harrison worked at the

Institute for Fiscal Studies The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is an economic research institute based in London, United Kingdom, which specialises in UK taxation and public policy. It produces both academic and policy-related findings. The institute's aim is to "ad ...

as Senior Research Economist. From 2006-2010 he was Chief Economic Advisor to the then Leader of the Opposition David Cameron and Shadow Chancellor George Osborne. From 2010-2015 he was Chief of Staff to UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, and Chair of the UK’s Council of Economic Advisors. In August 2015 Harrison joined the investment firm

where he is a Portfolio Manager and Chief Macro Strategist for Multi-Asset Strategies. Harrison has written opinion pieces for the Financial Times and appears regularly as a commentator on TV and radio. Harrison was hired as an economic advisor to the Chancellor

Jeremy Hunt Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Exchequer since 14 October 2022. He previously served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport ...

in 202

Views on Brexit

Harrison believes

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...

damages the UK economy. He wrote, "Q2 growth of 0.3% is not the end of the world, and I'm less gloomy than many on the outlook. But the rest of Europe is booming and we're not".

Recognition

In 2014 Harrison was said to be one of the most powerful people in the UK and to be the main reason why Osborne could be a "part time" Chancellor. In March 2014, he was the subject of the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

Profile programme. Harrison was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the 2015 Dissolution Honours Lists on 27 August 2015.

Personal life

In his first year at Oxford he was in a band called ''Psychid'' with three other students. In 2004, he married Jo Orpin, a Magdalen contemporary who has worked as a divorce lawyer and family therapist. Since January 2017 he has been Chair of The Fore, a charity dedicated to funding small charities and social enterprises.

References

External links

*
Rupert Harrison
on ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Rupert 1978 births Living people People educated at Eton College Alumni of University College London Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford British special advisers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire